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Chapter 28
Previous Chapter Dan woke up, his head pounding. It seemed like he was doing that a lot lately. He tried to wipe his eyes with his right hand, but it stopped. Something held it back. He looked at his wrist, his vision clearing. A handcuff. Dan looked around, surveying his settings. He was sitting in a chair in front of a cold, metal table. Dan looked around at the room, which was small in size and made of concrete. There was a security camera at one corner of the ceiling, its red light blinking. A lone, hanging lamp was directly above the table, and there was a large mirror on one side of the wall. To the right of the mirror was metal door, which creaked as it scrapped open. A corpulent man dressed in a brown suit stepped in, his overcoat flowing past him. He shot Dan an accusing look before taking a seat across from him. "So you're finally awake, eh?" Dan blinked, his eye twitching with each spasm. "Where am I?" he asked. "And why am I handcuffed?" "You're at the police station," said the man. "I'm Detective Barsotti. And YOU'VE got some explaining to do!" He slammed his hands onto the table and leaned over to peer directly into Dan's eyes. He was trying to intimidate Dan with his size, and Dan wasn't going to fall for that. "About what? I have no idea why I'm here!" "Oh! So you're saying you DON'T have anything to do with the gas explosion at the old Twin Points Hotel?" "Explosion? What explosion?" Maybe Dan remembered a dull, thundering sound, but he had hit his head as the wind guy's gust knocked him head-first into the brick wall, and he was out cold. Detective Barsotti carefully studied Dan's face. Dan thought the detective's face resembled a gorilla's with the expression he was making. "And what do you know of the museum assailant? The guy who ran off with the sword?" "You're wasting your time, detective," said Dan. "I have no clue about any of that." "We arrived at the scene, and we found YOU! Near the entrance to the hotel! Both you and the other suspect have wounds! Now tell me that isn't suspicious!" Detective Barsotti narrowed beady eyes at Dan. Dan leaned back in his chair as far as the handcuff allowed him. "I've never met this museum guy." "Well, I think you're a LYING little kid and you're hiding something!" The detective slammed his hands on the table again. If it weren't for the overcoat, Dan would've seen the detective's arms jiggle. "Well, I'm not saying you're fat, but it looks like you were poured into your clothes and forgot to say 'when'." A blood vessel on the detective's forehead throbbed. "You little PUNK!" "Alright Oscar, that's enough." Both heads turned to see another person walk into the room. He was an older man, his hair grey, but had a proud, strong stature that belied his age. "Chief!" said Oscar. "I'll take it from here, Oscar," said the police chief. "Obviously your tactics aren't working here." Oscar Barsotti's shoulder slightly slumped in defeat, and he stood up from his seat and walked towards to the door. "I don't think he's lying," he whispered to the chief as he walked by. "But I know he's involved in something." The police chief nodded, and waited for the detective to close the door behind him. Once they were alone, the police chief cleared his throat. "Sorry, cigarettes are a nasty habit, son. I've been trying to quit," he said. "Yes, well. I'm the Chief of Police. My name is Martin Grant." His eyes were kind and twinkled behind his glasses. "I'm Dan," said Dan, a bit surprised at how easily he gave his name. There was something welcoming about Commissioner Grant; he felt like he confide everything with him. Well, almost everything. "I'm confused," continued Dan. "Why am I at the police station?" "Well son, I was hoping you could tell me about that," said Commissioner Grant. "We just found you lying unconscious at the front of the old hotel. We just want to make sure you're not in any sort of trouble." Dan's head pounded again, and he tried recalling all the events that had happened over the last few days. The shooting at the library, being followed by something, meeting Monochrome, something about a Roland Blanco, and the encounter with the boy in the wind. "It's not the kind of trouble you're thinking of, believe me," said Dan. He looked down. "I've just ... been dazed these last few days." "Hmm. Could it be you're running away from something?" asked Commissioner Grant. Dan shook his head. "Or, from someone?" Dan tried to suppress his reaction, but somehow he felt that the police chief could tell. "What about your parents? Where are they?" asked the police chief. "They don't live in the state," said Dan. "I'm just here for school." "Then are you running away from Jim, your dormmate?" asked Commissioner Grant. Dan looked up, surprised. "Your dormmate reported you missing a few days ago," continued Commissioner Grant. "It's been hectic around the city lately; my officers are spread so thin. But it just so happens that they found you right there on the street. Did you see or hear anything unusual? Perhaps gunfire?" Dan remained silent, not exactly sure what he should say. He suddenly realized that he probably has been fired from his job after being absent for so long. The police chief studied his features, and spoke in a sterner tone, "I just wanted to let you know, son, that you can tell me anything. I'm here to help." "My mind," began Dan. "I've just had a lot on my mind, and I wanted to get away from it all. And no, I didn't hear anything like that. I don't have a gun or anything like that on me, so." "Well, alright son," said Commissioner Grant after a short pause. "I don't have any more questions for you. Let's just do some paperwork really quickly, and you'll be free to go." He got up from his chair and made his way to the door. It opened, and another officer was standing by with the keys. "Oh, and Dan?" The police chief turned to him. "Make sure you let everyone know you're alright, okay son?" "Okay," Dan nodded. The police chief walked through the door, where other officers and Detective Barsotti were waiting. "You're letting him go, chief?!" sputtered the detective. "People in the vicinity said they heard gunfire!" "But, no firearms were found on the boy, or in the area. Perhaps he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Commissioner Grant. "I agree that he's hiding something, but in regards to the museum incident, I believe he's innocent." Detective Barsotti grumbled angrily. "Well, I still think he's suspicious, and I'm going to keep an eye on him," declared the detective bitterly. "That's fine," said the police chief. "What worries me is that his dormmate declared him missing on the same day of the Grove Library shooting. And today, we found him after there were reports of people hearing gunfire." "I agree," said Detective Barsotti. "There's something there, and I'll find it!" Next Chapter